IIRC, the R’s scrolled through a bunch of Speakers until they landed on this inoffensive twerp. I’m sure he got a rush at first, but now it just looks like he’s completely beleaguered. His sole function is to be Smithers to trump’s Burns. He doesn’t seem to me to be a guy who’s just power hungry and I’m sure the pay differential is significant, but is it worth it? It would be soul crushing for most humans.
If he had to do it over again, he probably wouldn’t.
It’s a little surprising how off guard some of these Republicans are caught when they have to deal with Trump on a regular basis. Maybe I’m being too cynical, but I would have thought they’d all see how obviously demented he is, even if they say differently to their constituents.
But he’s got the proverbial tiger by the tail. He can hardly let go at this point
The pay differential is about $50k above the ~$174k normal reps get but that’s almost certainly dwarfed by all the dark money he gets. He rather dubiously claimed very limited personal assets and bank accounts for years, so who really knows, though?
He’s deluded himself.
Heck, he believes sky fairies are real.
And that teen girls signing a covenant with her Father ain’t creepy.
That big old melon head ain’t computing.
How do you know that’s not the case?
Fair cop.
I assumed they’d act a bit differently, even if they were mouthing obeisance. But maybe they wouldn’t
Obedient religious-type people like Johnson will gladly line up behind an authoritarian and tell themselves that if they trust God, trust the plan, trust Daddy, everything will be fine. He was selected for that reason. I doubt he’s enjoying the job, I think he’ll exit sooner rather than later, but I’m 100% he’d do it again.
Not least because people like that really have no career plan beyond knob-polishing. He’s got no plan B, he got elevated over numerous people just like him, who are all still waiting in the wings to for their turn at abased obeisance.
That’s pretty much Johnson in a nutshell. If you look up lickspittle in the dictionary there’s a picture of Johnson so you know what one looks like. Like Karoline Leavitt, he has the uncanny ability to tell the entire world a lot of bullshit with a straight face. It’s absolutely amazing the lengths he’ll go to when polishing Trump’s knob. Does anyone in the House actually respect him?
The Father/Son porn accountability pact is also totally not creepy.
I can’t begin to imagine the shit that kid takes at school.
Everyone who had real leadership ambitions of their own and a trajectory in that direction (McCarthy, Jordan, Emmer, Scalise, etc.) was humiliated by either the House extremists or Trump and discarded, some even after getting caucus support (one even after being Speaker). Johnson was the one palatable to all of those players.
If he’s going to a private religious extremist school, he’s almost certainly not the only one with weird “covenants” with their parents. And maybe an NDA with some past pastor.
Hilarity ensues when the Johnson boy gets his porn phone confused with his regular phone.
I find the choice of the word “beleaguered” curious. Do you care to expound?
I admit that I have made no effort to see much of him, but the short bits I’ve seen, he seemed to have just been spouting the same nonsensical talking points I recalled hearing from him from the get go.
Has there been a noticeable change in his demeanor, words, or anything? Sure, I would imagine he would be in a difficult situation given the dynamics - but that would have been obvious to anyone when he accepted the job. I certainly have seen no sign that he has made any effort to advance policies that I perceive as desirable, necessary, or worthy of respect.
I never really understood why HE was chosen, other than that he was someone enough of that nest of vipers would vote for. His religious views are extreme enough that I do not understand or respect someone with that sort of mindset. I never perceived him as trying to do anything other than be a loyal mouthpiece for Trump - and assumed he supported some extreme religious agenda.
I hope he is experiencing great discomfort. He - and every other enabler of this administration - deserves it.
I think that’s something we forget easily. Johnson is Speaker of the House because of a fluke not because he’s a skilled politician or respected by others. I’m a bit surprised he’s lasted this long.
I’m not.
Trump likes that he’s a spineless lickspittle and the other Republicans didn’t want another power struggle at the time and now can’t afford one when their Congressional majority has slimmed even further since then. It’s ride or die time for them
Agree. The R contingent of Congress is completely content to collect a paycheck doing nothing but nodding and occasionally cheering when trump tells them he wants to hear some cheering.
In that environment, Johnson is well-suited to play the (pitiful) role he’s assigned to. Why would anyone want to change anything?
If there are any ambitious young (i.e. ~<50yo) Rs in Congress, and of course there are a bunch, they understand two things: 1) the executive branch is now the only one that matters, and 2) they’re not going to make inroads to power there until after trump is gone. So they jockey for position within the Greek chorus of cheerleaders, sharpen their knives, refine their plans, and bide their time.
He also looks so blandly inoffensive that he doesn’t, in passing, trigger negative reactions from his appearance. He doesn’t look smart, he’s neither very tall nor short, and he’s not a woman. All things being equal, he might well have gotten the job even if the first two of those were not true, but it’s almost uncanny how his appearance fits the bill of someone who will not make waves.
Hell, even his name is blandly white bread, without even mayo.
He seems smirkingly pleased to be kissing the rump of the Dear Leader and having a great time.
Doesn’t this make it easier to get away with molesting children? I mean, such ‘agreements’ just reinforce to the child that sex is something that will get you into trouble. One way these monsters get away with it for so long is they convince the child that they will get in trouble if they tell anyone.
I think they all enjoy owning the libs so much that they have made their peace with wearing the orange goatee.